On Saturday, we stepped out to one of the coolest bookstores in our area, John K. King Books in Detroit. This place is an institution around here, especially for readers.
Housed in an old factory building that operated from the 1940s to the 1970s, it is rather unassuming from the road. Maybe you might pass it by, thinking it didn’t hold much of value. But were you to stop and step inside, you would be whisked into the dreams of every book lover, with four floors of books, stacks that tower to the ceiling, and seem to go on and on indefinitely on those old factory floors. It’s truly like a weird, wonderful world in there. One feels like Dorothy must have upon entering Oz, Lucy entering Narnia, or any other character who stumbled into something like a dream.
When you enter, the staff greets you warmly and hands you a map. Yep a map. However we made a grand entrance upon the scene – we entered in style. When we arrived, we opened the front door and immediately in front of us were two sets of stairs – not very easy for us to navigate with Wyatt’s wheelchair. As luck would have it, a Detroit fire truck pulled up at the same time, and out popped a fireman who was heading inside to look for a book. He saw our predicament and helped Billy carry Wyatt up, one on each side of his wheelchair, like Wyatt was in ancient Egypt. I can’t make this up. When we got all the way up, the staff told us that there were elevators, and that it even accessed the parking lot, so leaving was going to be much easier, since I am sure our fireman friend would be long gone. We got our maps, and prepared to enter the labyrinth. And seriously, the first floor is like a labyrinth!
Laid out like a rabbit warren, I soon found myself lost and absorbed in the books. I had a goal though: to find the children’s books. I knew that I wouldn’t be able to stay as long as I wanted, as I had a nine year old in tow, so I wanted to explore, and hit the one section I really wanted. Thankfully, it was on the first floor and easy to find! There were so many books though! I was excited and also super overwhelmed. I browsed the shelves, pulled books out, put them back, over and over again. I also had an extra mission – to find the Nancy Drew books to see if they had any for Lisa, over at Boondock Ramblings, who is collecting and reading them.
At first, it seemed like it would be simple.
I found the section and I thought, I did it! Success! Sadly though, they were all sold out! The staff there told me that they sell out very quickly, which I am sure they do. I quick chatted Lisa and told her the sad news, and told her that while there was no Nancy Drew, there were a ton of Hardy Boys and a few Bobbsey Twins. After some back and forth, she decided that if I wanted I could pick her up a Bobbsey Twins book. Then we had to decide on how vintage she wanted it…
I will reveal all books bought at the end of the post – suspense!
I prowled through more of the shelves, having no idea where my husband and son were by this point, lost in reading title after title.
After some time I thought I should probably look for my family. I asked the woman at the register if she knew where they went (and she called me young lady, bless her) and she directed me up to the second floor.
I took the stairs and finally found them on the third, after I explored the second floor and couldn’t find them. I did call Billy to see where they were. I had to. I met them up there and Wyatt was getting super bored, so we decided Billy would take him outside and I would finish up, which meant sweeping through the third floor super fast and then paying.
For the second photo, I was standing in the middle of the room and the shelves were down the middle and off to both sides. I can’t stress just how many books this was. You can see Billy in the distance as well, pushing Wyatt.
After I breezed through quickly, I went back down to the first floor and purchased my books, knowing that I would be back soon. I have already asked my cousin Brian to go back with me one day; we often take used book store shopping trips together and this will be the biggest one. I am super excited about it, and so is he!
A few things, if you visit. It is huge, but there are phones to the front desk on each floor. As far as mobility, well, they try. There is an elevator but even with Wyatt’s little kid wheelchair it was hard to get around. There are just so many books crammed everywhere it was hard to fit through the aisles. It is on the edge of the downtown area, so it is one of the safer areas, however still, like in any big city, keep aware of your surroundings.
And now, the books! I didn’t buy many, as I was sort of overwhelmed and I didn’t spend all that much time there.
First, up, Lisa’s Bobbsey Twin book. And mine! I decided to get one too, and there was one with a houseboat, one of my favorite things! I would love to stay on a houseboat! So I had to treat myself to that one.
I had been on the lookout for Carol Ryrie Brink books. They only had Caddie Woodlawn so I picked it up. I was really hoping that they had The Pink Motel but alas, they did not.
Then I picked up these rather randomly. I had not heard of any of them but they called to me.
I loved the covers of the bird book and the blackberry book, and then I just thought the pond book was too cute.
And..that was it for our first trip to John K. King! We had other adventures after we left, but those are for a future post. I can’t wait to go back to this bookstore again – it just has so much!
Still Life, With Cracker Crumbs.. 